France asks 30,000 women to remove breast implants suspected of causing cancer

In an unprecedented move, French authorities will require 30,000 women who have had substandard silicone breast implants to have them removed.

According to Liberation newspaper today, December 20, French health officials are concerned that breast implants from Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) pose health risks.

Last year PIP was found to be using substandard silicone which was responsible for an unusually high rate of breast implant perforation.

PIP breast implants - Photo: AFP

The French government has set up a special commission to investigate the matter.

“We have to remove all these implants,” Laurent Lantieri, a surgeon on the committee, told Liberation newspaper. “We are facing a medical crisis linked to a fraud.”

French government spokeswoman Valerie Pecresse said an action plan would be announced later this week.

“Every woman with PIP breast implants should return to see her surgeon urgently,” she said.

Investigations conducted by the French Society of Plastic Surgeons last year found that PIP breast implants had a higher rate of perforation than other types of implants and that the silicone in them was not approved for medical use.

PIP closed last year and the use of the company's breast implants has been banned.

Police have received 2,000 complaints from women who had the implants and opened a criminal investigation into PIP's operations, according to AFP.

According to French Director General of Health Jean-Yves Grall, health officials have recorded eight cases of breast cancer linked to the use of PIP implants.

Mr Gall added that any costs associated with removing the implants would be reimbursed by the state, although it was not immediately clear whether that would include the cost of replacement implants.

PIP implants are among the cheapest and are also sold outside France. According to the BBC, around 50,000 British women are thought to have these dangerous implants.

According to Thanh Nien